Jud

The year is 1975, my parents, Nick and Mimi Bogard, along with my brother Clinton, who was ten years old, and my sister Betsy, who was four years old were living on Forest Street in Wellesley, MA. On July 8, 1976 I was born at The Lying In in Boston, MA. At birth my big toes curled under my other toes, and some years later we will learn this is a indication of rare bone disease. After about a five day stay in The Lying In, my mom and I were released. After being home for one week, my mom discovered I had a blister next to my thumb-nail. My mom was really nervous, so nervous my dad was called off the golf course to take us to Children's Hospital in Boston. It turned out I had a staff infection and after taking antibiotics the blister went away. It seemed to them like a crisis of a life time and yet eventually they would see it as the first of numerous rush visits to a hospital. Actually, I am a happy cheerful person but mine was to be a life fraught with health problems. The choices one has to make essentially is does the illness run you or do you do what you can to take charge of your own life no matter whats going on. (CLICK FOR FULL BIO).
What is FOP?
FOP is short for Fibrodysplasia Ossificans Progressiva. FOP is a rare genetic disorder in which bone forms in muscles, tendons, ligaments, and other connective tissues. Bridges of extra bone form across the joints in characteristic patterns, progressively restricting movement. FOP is a disease in which the body produces not just too much bone, but an extra skeleton that immobilizes the joints of the body.
Jud's Journey II

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